The present invention relates to a vehicle seat in which a universal seat belt anchor is readily adapted for fixedly or rotatably attaching belt webbing to a side structure.
Vehicles typically include seat belt anchors that are either fixedly attached to a vehicle structure, such as a floorpan, or rotatably attached to the same. Modifying existing anchors to change between fixed and rotatable anchorage typically requires significant alterations in those constructions.
A known anchor comprises a plate rotatably attached to the vehicle structure by a shoulder bolt. This plate has a hole that receives the shoulder bolt. The plate also has a tab, which extends into an arcuate slot formed within the vehicle structure.
In this respect, the plate pivots on the shoulder bolt within a range of motion defined by the tab and the arcuate slot. The arcuate slot typically does not weaken the strength of a substantially large vehicle structure, e.g. a floorpan, as the omitted material forms merely a small fraction of that structure.
The present invention allows a seatbelt anchor to be readily adapted for rotatably or fixedly attaching to a generally small vehicle structure while maintaining the integrity of that structure while minimizing manufacturing costs.